GER ‘M15R’/LNER ‘F5’ 2-4-2T No. 789
Group: The Holden F5 Locomotive Trust
Project launched: 2003 Project cost: Unknown
Raised to date: Unknown Estimated completion date: Unknown Number of supporters: Unknown Location: Tyseley Locomotive Works
To run: Preserved lines only
There are few new-build projects being built specifically for use on one preserved railway, but the ‘F5’ is one, for the Epping Ongar Railway.
Previously designated ‘M15R’ by the GER, the James Holden-designed tank engines were familiar sights on London Underground’s Ongar branch in the 1950s – and were running on the branch’s last day of steam operation in 1957 – so it is appropriate that the replica No. 789, the original having been a frequent visitor to the line, is intended to eventually run there.
It had originally been planned to outshop the ‘F5’ as it was withdrawn from service as No. 67218, but the group opted in 2013 to complete the locomotive as No. 789 in GER blue, in order to stand out “from the plethora of BR-liveried locomotives currently operating in preservation.”
However, this is a project that has been running for a number of years without making a great deal of headway. Furthermore, Steam Railway first contacted the project in preparation for this series in July but had still not received a response at the time of going to press, despite repeated attempts to contact it, so drawing conclusions on the viability of the ‘F5’ project without firm data is challenging.
Nonetheless, the Holden F5 Steam Locomotive Trust’s accounts show that the project’s mean annual income for the last five financial years is £13,481. If the ‘F5’ costs approximately £1.25 million (the same as the ‘G5’ – a project of similar size and scope, so costs are likely to be comparable), it will take nearly 80 years for the trust to reach its target, assuming that average rate of income is perpetuated, and not taking inflation into account.
To date, the project has acquired the frames, cylinder block, motion bracket, bunker, smokebox, chimney and bufferbeam for No. 789, as well as the pattern for the leading and trailing wheelsets – which the Claud Hamilton Locomotive Group (p83) also hopes to use – while Computer Aided Design work is ongoing for the valve gear and trailing radial truck. But is that enough to show for 15 years’ work?
Since 2003, the ‘F5’ has moved homes several times, and the parts acquired so far are currently stored at Tyseley Locomotive Works. This lack of a permanent home has highlighted how important it is for a new-build project to set down roots, as the trust says Tyseley has not been able to construct No. 789’s frames without assurance that they can be moved elsewhere once completed, leaving the ‘F5’ in limbo – although there was a proposal to relocate it to the North Norfolk Railway (SR465).
The prospect of seeing an ‘F5’ once again working over what is now the Epping Ongar Railway is enticing, but the somewhat stuttering rate of progress and lack of response to Steam Railway’s questions suggests that any such prospect may be distant.